Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve papers

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buzzbird

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I have a debt collector who has called to my rented home on 2 occasions regarding a old debt, 4 years old.

My husband has answered the door on both occasions and claimed to never of hearing of me.

The second time he came back he insisted that he knew this was was address, my husband simply closed the door.

My question is does this man have to prove who I am and does he physically have to hand me or my husband the summons to proceed.

Any advice would be great.
 
Re: debt collector query

There is another thread in here called "what can a debt collection agency actually do if someone refuses to pay up" worth a read.

I would write to them and say that you are aware that any third party such as debt collectors/door to door collectors such as themselves have no legal standing in the matter and thus decline to have any dealings with them, tell them you give them no permission to contact you further or you will trea such contact as harrassment and extortion.

This has worked before but I cannot promise it'll work straight away for you, there are legal bodies in here that may say I'm wrong and steer you a different direction, that is my remedy yours may not be the same, just remember they cannot come in your home unless invited.

Check out that thread!
 
Re: debt collector query

Taslett said:
There is another thread in here called "what can a debt collection agency actually do if someone refuses to pay up" worth a read, I would write to them and say that you are aware that any third party such as debt collectors/door to door collectors such as themselves have no legal standing in the matter and thus decline to have any dealings with them, tell them you give them no permission to contact you further or you will trea such contact as harrassment and extortion.

This has worked before but I cannot promise it'll work straight away for you, there are legal bodies in here that may say I'm wrong and steer you a different direction, that is my remedy yours may not be the same, just remember they cannot come in your home unless invited. Check out that thread!!!
Click to expand...

What address is she going to put on her letter?

And they are trying to serve a summons on her which she is seeking to avoid - hardly harassment or extortion.

mf
 
Re: debt collector query

yes sorry, I am trying to avoid getting the summons, I have nothing and know that if i can avoid court for 2 more years I will fall under the statatue of limitations act. So really I wanted to know does the collecter have to hand me the summons as in serve me with it in order for him to proceed?
 
Re: debt collector query

I would think it would be sufficient for the server to serve your husband.
 
Re: debt collector query

Or any adult at the house. Or even substituted service by ordinary post.

I doubt it is a process server as they would have served whoever was there. As said earlier a debt collector has no legal status exceeding that of a private citizen and any implied right to entry a property can be revoked at any time.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to proove I live there & physically serve pa

Ive expanded the title somewhat to more fully reflect the question.

Ill move the question to the forum/subfourm in which "debt collection" and "debt collection agencies" is discussed.

Banking, Borrowing, Budgeting and Credit Cards
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

My apologies mf1 and OP, misunderstood that.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

Slightly off-topic but if the surname spelling is incorrect is the summons valid?
I know of someone who has the surname Cxxxx and he received a summons in the name Kxxxx , can he just ignore it?
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

It would not make much difference as in a civil court mistakes can be rectified easily.
Even if the summons was dismissed a new one could be issued straight away and the process would restart.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

instead of trying to dodge the bill which you obviously created and have ignored for the past four years why don't you or why didn't you try to get it sorted. Plenty of people have very little money but don't try to hide behind statutes to get them out of debt they at least make an effort to reach an agreement on payment.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

OT posts removed.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

ajapale, please also delete my previous post if you feel it to be in appropriate.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

Maverick.ie said:
instead of trying to dodge the bill which you obviously created and have ignored for the past four years why don't you or why didn't you try to get it sorted. Plenty of people have very little money but don't try to hide behind statutes to get them out of debt they at least make an effort to reach an agreement on payment.
Click to expand...

I agree with this- you owe money - you need to make an arrangement to clear the debt!! They can go for a subservice.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

When people dodge their bills does it not have a knock on effect regards other people getting credit, interest rates etc
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

Correct me if I'm wrong but each time he comes knocking on your door a fee is added on to your debt.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

That is not allowed. They are not bailiffs as none exist in this country.

If some freelance debt collector wants to waste his time and energy that is his problem.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

Hi buzzbird. In my opinion you will not be able to avoid paying this debt for a further two years, nor should you avoid payment.

It sounds as if a debt collector is involved at present but once a solicitor becomes involved you will be successfully served with the Summons. You would be better advised facing up to this now rather than hiding in your home everytime somebody comes to the door.

If you cannot afford to pay the entire debt in one go an arrangement can be entered into where you would pay €x per month.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

Read point 2 on both of these links
http://www.courts.ie/rules.nsf/0/e0b5fdf14c8d3ac980256d2b0046b3d1?OpenDocumenthttp://www.courts.ie/rules.nsf/0/e0b5fdf14c8d3ac980256d2b0046b3d1?OpenDocument
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1957/en/act/pub/0006/sec0045.html

The company that you owe the money too are trying to contact you therefore advoiding them for two years will not help.

My advice would be contact MABS and have them contact the company to come to a payment plan. This will not go away otherwise.
 
Re: Debt Collector at door. Does he have to prove I live there & physically serve pap

As this is a case of personal service of a summons on an individual it would seem that this is a High Court matter, as only the High Court rules require personal service. Both Circuit and District merely require a Civil Bill and Civil Summons to be served by registered post.

Sorry to burst your naive bubble here OP, but what this means is that the High Court Summons has issued, otherwise they couldn't be attempting to serve you. Once a High Court summons has issued the clock stops running for the purposes of the Statute of Limitations, this is also true of the Circuit Court proceedings. So avoiding the summons will not beat the Statute and result in the matter becoming statute barred.

To further rain or your parade, the next step for the plaintiffs will be to bring an Ex-Parte Motion (i.e. you won't be notified) to the Court for an Order of Substituted Sevice, which are virtually automatically granted, what this means is that the Court will grant permission for the legal proceedings to be served on you by ordinary post. Once sent by post, service is effected and whether you actually receive the proceedings or not doesn't matter.

If you then choose to ignore the proceedings; judgment in the amount claimed plus legal costs will ultimately be entered against you in your absence (probably 'in the office' without the need for any further Court appearance). Once judgment has been obtained the plaintiff/judgment creditor will then usually proceed to enforce judgment by execution through the County Sheriff who can call to your property and seize your goods, by registration and publication of details of the judgment in the Judgment Office (resulting in publication of your details in Stubbs Gazette and other debtor such trade magazines, websites, etc.), possibly a judgment mortgage against your property (i.e. the conversion of the judgement to a mortgage registered on the title deeds of your property), an installment order and if not complied with maybe committal to prison and possibly even seeking an Order for Sale of your property to discharge the debt.

OP, this is a serious situation and by adopting the osterich approach and burying your head in the sand the matter will only get worse. Go see a solicitor or if you cannot afford one, talk to MABS and/or Free Legal Advice Centre.
 
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